Donor meeting at W.H. draws fire

A meeting President Barack Obama hosted in the White House for his key political backers from Wall Street is under fire from good government advocates and a Bush administration ethics official who say the session appeared to bring activity related to campaign fundraising onto White House grounds.

White House spokesmen say the March 7 meeting in the Blue Room between Obama and about 20 Wall Street executives involved discussion of policies affecting the financial industry. However, the gathering, which was first reported last week by The New York Times, has drawn scrutiny and criticism because the Democratic National Committee extended invitations to the session.

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“It’s obvious that the DNC is going after these people for money, not just for their thoughts,” said Richard Painter, who served as White House ethics counsel for President George W. Bush from 2005 to 2007. “I think that violates the spirit, if not the letter, of the Hatch Act,” the federal law limiting political activity and fundraising by federal employees. “If that had been run by me, I would have said, ‘No. Have the meeting someplace else.’”

At a briefing for reporters Friday, White House press secretary Jay Carney defended the meeting.

“This was not a fundraiser,” Carney said. “It is wholly understandable why the president would want to consult with business executives about their ideas about what to do in terms of economic policy and business policy going forward, including financial-sector policy. … Obviously, he would want to talk to his supporters about that, as well.”

Carney called the meeting “totally precedented” and said the Democratic and Republican parties have regularly sponsored and arranged invitations to events such as White House Christmas parties.

In May 2001, the Republican National Committee held a reception on the lawn of Vice President Dick Cheney’s residence for top party donors and other officials. Former Presidents George H.W. Bush and Ronald Reagan also held events in the residence for donors, press reports say.

Still, critics said policy discussions are different than social events.

“This is no picnic. This not the Easter egg roll. This is not where they put up the Christmas tree,” Painter said. “This is bringing in donors and doing donor maintenance.”

“There’s a pretty clear line — or there should be a clear line,” said Meredith McGehee of the Campaign Legal Center, which presses for tighter controls on campaign finance. “I don’t have a problem with the president inviting Wall Street people to the White House to discuss policy, but why does it need to be DNC-sponsored? I think that’s what raises the eyebrows. Even if it’s not a fundraiser, it’s a cultivation.”

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, headed by Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), has scheduled a hearing for Tuesday to examine “the challenges of separating politics from policy” under the Hatch Act.

Painter, who’s set to testify, said the Blue Room session “is going to come up” at the hearing. He said he expects the main focus of the session to be a report that the Office of Special Counsel released this year accusing the Bush administration of repeatedly violating the Hatch Act in 2006 by scheduling Cabinet members’ official travel to coincide with political fundraisers and discussing political strategies at official meetings.